An interview with CDM Captain Nyi Thuta on the possible consequences of the military junta’s conscription of women
Reports have emerged that women are being recruited for military training under the conscription law in some areas.
Under the “People’s Military Service Law”, women aged 18 to 27 or women aged 18 to 35 who have a professional qualification can be called up for military service.
Than Lwin Times conducted this interview with Captain Nyi Thuta, who has joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), about the kind of training the military junta provides when women are called up for military service, the difficulties these women could face during their military service, and what should be done to avoid conscription.
Q: Who could be recruited under the limited provisions outlined in the conscription law?
A: The recruitment of women for military service existed long before. But they were mostly used as office staff and in the rear of battalions. Those who will be called up soon will have to undergo military training. The junta will probably deploy them in offices and some battalions.
Q: What kind of military training will the selected women have to undergo?
A: There are different forms of human rights violations in military training. It’s just like the men who are currently being recruited. Their freedom of movement and living conditions will be completely restricted.
Q: What kind of tasks could be assigned after their training?
A: They say these recruits will be deployed in the rear headquarters, but under the current circumstances even the rear units of the junta have become frontlines. In other words, they are likely to be deployed on the frontlines. There is already a Veterans Act, so even retired elderly people are being recalled.
Q: What situations could women selected for military service face in the military?
A: Even those who are currently serving can’t be sure that their term of service won’t be extended. In the past, people were required to sign five-year or ten-year contracts and people weren’t allowed to leave when the contracts expired. Sometimes it’s not possible for them to even leave the army compounds for various reasons.
They aren’t allowed to return to their parents, and also for health reasons they cannot leave as they wish. They cannot attend social events or funerals, which is a violation of human rights. They may not be able to take leave.
Q: What precautions should women who are eligible for conscription take?
A: For their own protection, women who fall into the conscription age bracket should try to escape in any way they can. The reason for this is that there are many male security soldiers inside. In some military headquarters, even wives of soldiers are forced to wear uniforms and kept as reserves for training. Those who are kept in this way will be undoubtedly used.
Sent by Than Lwin Times.